Drew Pearson: Dez Bryant isn’t living up to No. 88 standards

Posted by Michael David Smith on October 5, 2012, 8:59 AM EDT

Getty Images

The Cowboys have had two great receivers, Drew Pearson and Michael Irvin, who wore No. 88. They have a receiver now, Dez Bryant, who wears No. 88 and has the talent to be great. But Pearson doesn’t think Bryant is living up to his talent.

After Bryant’s drops crippled the Cowboys’ offense on Monday night, Pearson said Bryant has a long way to go to play at the level that Cowboys fans are accustomed to from the No. 88.

“He’s not living up to the expectations that were placed on him by wearing that number,” Pearson told the Midland Reporter-Telegram. “Drew Pearson took it to the Ring of Honor level and Michael Irvin took it way beyond that to the Hall of Fame level. When Michael and I had a chance to talk to Dez when he came in his rookie year we told him, ‘Don’t do what Drew Pearson did in it. Don’t do what Michael did in it. Do more than that.’ I know that’s a lot to live up to, but what else is there? You live up to those expectations and people will cherish you for the rest of your life.”

Pearson also said the Cowboys’ offense is weaker than he ever remembers it from his days.

“We were never this stagnant,” Pearson said. “Throughout my career we averaged at least 28 points per game and there were seasons we averaged more than 30 points per game.”

Pearson is wrong about that: The Cowboys only averaged 28 or more points a game twice in Pearson’s 11 seasons, and they never averaged 30 points a game. So Pearson may be like a lot of older folks who remember how much better things were back in their day.

But Pearson’s broader point is correct: Bryant is not living up to his talent, or to the expectations of everyone in Dallas.

Dez is a perfect example of what is wrong with today’s athlete. Troubled young man handed millions and zero accountability. I can’t judge and neither should you. Likely none of us who had it rough would have done any better. I just hate that it is ruining my team and a game I have loved all my life, that is now acceptably called a ‘product’. Yeah, maybe it always has been such to the owners, but I dont think the Bob Lilly’s, Dick Butkus and Jim Brown’s of the world even had that word in their vocabulary or ever gave one thought to their brand while playing. It was about the game, the game, the game. Dez aint a bad seed, he’s just like all the rest. There are so few with the grit, guts, and respect for the game compared to all those who built it into this.

I don’t think it is quite time to label Dez a bust, however it is getting really close. I think Dez has the talent but not the intelligence or the drive to be a number 1 receiver. His work ethic is questionable at best, and if there is no improvement by the end of the season I really start to think B U S T.

Disappointment would mean qualifying for the playoffs and losing, this team isn’t even relevant. Awful ownership and mangement would tarnish this team forever. Looking forward to watching Romo hit the turf in Baltimore.

But, it all starts with Jerry Jones revolving HC policy. He’s a meddling owner who can only be stomached by weak coaches who wouldn’t even be considered by 90% of the league. Jason is in WAY over his head as HC and Jerry was desperate.

That downward spiraling fact became evident with Jimmy Johnson and hasn’t gotten any better since bringing on Barry Swisher. It’s only gotten worse .

I don’t think Dez is at the point of no return yet. His off the field mistakes are hardly the worst that we have seen in the NFL. His on the field mistakes are correctable. I wouldn’t give up on someone who is so physically gifted so soon.

hello you have reached the Turners residence, I’m sorry I can’t take your call. Please leave a message.
beep..
yeah hello norv? this is Jerrah, heard you lost your job out there in San Diego, is that true? well my sock puppet of a coach out here can’t get it done. and i was think…
phone picks up..
yeah Mr. Jones sorry I was screening my calls, i get an awful lot of death threats. mostly from Philip Rivers.. I can be down there in twenty minutes i drive really fast

Barry Swisher
——————-
Switzer. And at least back in my days in OKC, he was anything but a “Swisher”. He basically considered any female to be at his disposal, their marital status or wishes irrelevant.

Dallas is not balanced at all we need another RB to complement Murrary. Felix Jones is not the guy. Another Jerry Jones busted draft pick. Jerry you need to step down. U have ran this organization into the ground move on Jerry you cant do it anymore you will not win anything with this garbage on the field. I’m been a cowboy fan for a long time and I’m sick of seeing the same horriable underachieving team year after year.

Only Jordy Nelson, Calvin Johnson, and Laurent Robinson were WR’s who had more TD’s than hem.

Only Witten, had more yards than him, on the team.

He had a bad game with some drops, he’s usually one of the more sure handed guys on the team.

He DOES read coverage wrong from time to time, but he has gotten better at it.

People said last year “Oh he dissapears in the second half”…well this year he has more 2nd half catches than first half catches.

So what’s the problem? Or are you just going to point out the he didn’t pay a bill, got in trouble for sagging his pants and allegedly slapped his mother (who is on probabtion for supplying false info to police) with a baseball hat?

If Carter didn’t have drug problems he would have been better because he did lead the team to a 10-6 season and a playoof berth. Although being Canadian, I remember him also for his short stint in the CFL where he called the league a joke. Lets face it the CFL is a joke

I still dont understand how Michael Irvin was a first ballot HOF… overhyped cowboy biased media.. so many other players out there that were better than irvin and kept their nose clean and are not in…. SMH!!

Dez isn’t that great. Neither is Romo, or Jones. Cowboys got a lot of problems, but most of them will not go away until some major changes happen. First thing they need to do is stop predicting Super Bowl every year.

Here they come…..why is it so hard for seemingly reasonable people to put the blame where it squarely belongs…..TONY ROMO……I get it…. D Bryant due to off field issues make it easy to use him as a scapegoat for the cowboys being inept but clearly, the biggest problem right now is at the QB position…..there are other people Romo can target if Bryant is not catching the ball…….

But go ahead, if it makes u feel good to blame everyone but who you should blame then prepare for an at best 8-8 season………..

Way to pile on Drew. The biggest problem with Pearson’s statement is that he is dead wrong. He’s not living up to no. 88 standards? Your right he has surpassed them. All the people calling Bryant a bust are misinformed. I’m a Skins fan so I could care less about the star and its followers, I’m tired of certain athletes being railroaded because of lazy journalism.

Keep in mind we are 4 weeks into Bryant’s third season. Through 3 seasons Pearson had 130 catches and 12 touchdowns. Through 3 seasons Michael Irvin had 78 catches and 12 touchdowns. Through 2 seasons and 4 games Bryant has 129 catches and 15 touchdowns. In Irvin’s best year he had 10 td catches, Bryant had 9 last season. Pearson never had a season where he had more than 8 touchdown catches. Want to recant that statement Drew?

Bryant is a lot of things, a bust isnt one of them. He is a convenient scapegoat for Cowboys fans. He isn’t the reason why they lost on Monday, but his reputation makes him an easy target. The next time Pearson decides to wax poetic he might want to check the numbers first.